Vocaloid Gumi's Adventure
by SawakoHadzuki
Summary: Recently, the vocaloid's house has been very boring. Until Gumi came along, that is. GumixNigaito. Slight KaitoxMiku.
1. Enter: Gumi Megpoid!

**Hey! This is my first vocaloid story. I hope you enjoy it! I do not own vocaloid or any part of it. Thank you!**

In the vocaloid house, things had been strangely quiet lately. Almost boring. It was a dark evening, and storm clouds filled the sky, threatening to pour their contents out. Len and Rin sat on the couch in the living room.

"Len!" Rin called, despite the fact that he was less than four feet away. "I'm so bored!"

Len sighed in an irritated way and said

"Well, get over it. I am too." Miku, who was sitting in the floor with Meiko and Kaito, playing monopoly, said

"Oh yeah, Mikuo said there is going to be a new vocaloid coming today!"

Mikuo, who was just now returning from the kitchen with popcorn, said

"Ha-ha, sorry for forgetting to tell you guys. From eavesdropping, I did figure out that she's a girl around Miku's age, but nothing else." Everyone sighed and Kaito said

"Well, I wish she would hurry up and get here. A new vocaloid would definitely make things more fun around here." The rest of the gang nodded in agreement.

"By the way," Meiko asked, "where are your brothers, Kaito?" Kaito pointed at the staircase and said

"Akaito is on his computer, Taito is sleeping, and Nigaito is… um… whatever is he's doing in his room."

"Maybe we should check on him?" suggested Miku. Before anyone could act, there was a knock at the door. Miku jumped up and said

"I'll get it!" She opened the door to reveal a man in a black suit and sunglasses. (Who wears sunglasses when it's raining?) The man greeted them and said

"As I'm sure you are all aware," he glared at Mikuo, "There was a new vocaloid coming today. She has arrived, and I am happy to be able to escort her to you. This is Gumi Megpoid."

A girl with green hair, and cute orange attire stepped out from behind the man. She bowed her head.

"It's nice to meet you all." She said with a smile. Miku grabbed her hand and guided her inside.

"Come on inside! No need to stand in the rain!" She said almost too cheerily. Gumi laughed lightly and followed. Miku slammed the door in the man's face.

In the living room, everyone introduced themselves.

"So, Gumi, What do you like?" Gumi thought for a moment and said

"I like music, carrots, and my favorite subject at school is Science." Kaito said

"That's cool. I think my three brothers are upstairs. Too bad they missed introductions."

Miku yawned.

"Well, it was nice getting to know you! I think we should go to sleep for now. We have a big day tomorrow! It's our first day together at the recording studio!" Everybody slowly filed up the stairs. Miku was showing Gumi to her room, when Gumi suddenly stopped. She was sure she heard something whimper from behind the door they just passed. She just decided not to worry about it. - It was probably just her imagination.

As Gumi walked into her room, she was quiet pleased. There was light orange wallpaper, and soft yellow carpet. The furniture was made from white wood. The bed looked comfortable, and was covered with a pastel green blanket that had stars on it. There was a desk with a lamp already on it, and a closet with a sliding door. There was a brown leather couch against the windowsill. Sitting in the middle of the room was a table that had a piece of paper laying on it. After Miku had said goodnight and left, Gumi picked it up and read it. In crayon, it had written on it

_Welcome. I hope you like it here. – Nigaito_

She looked at it and tilted her head.

"Nigaito…" she let the name roll off her tongue. She couldn't recognize the name, but decided that it was probably one of the brothers that Kaito had mentioned.

"Well, it was nice of him to write a welcome card." She said smiling. She then unpacked her things from the boxes that had already been brought up here, turned the light off, and drifted off to sleep in her new bed.

_**Gumi's POV**_

I found it a bit difficult to be sleeping in a new place, so I wandered down the staircase to the kitchen. I flipped the light on to see a small boy sitting at the kitchen counter with a concerned look on his face. His hair was a bright green color. He looked up at Gumi and became startled.

"Ah!" he said. "I'm sorry! D-did I wake you?" Gumi shook her head.

"Don't worry. You didn't. I was just having trouble sleeping since it's my first night here. Are you maybe… Nigaito?" The boy nodded his head nervously.

"And you're the new vocaloid?"

"Yup! My name is Gumi!" she said. Nigaito went back to sitting by the counter. Gumi walked over and said

"So, What are you doing up so late?" Nigaito, looking at the clock, which read 4:37, said

"Oh… well…" he didn't finish his sentence. Lightning illuminated the sky outside and thunder crashed. At the sound, he flinched and clamped his eyes shut.

"I see. Are you afraid of storms?" She asked quietly. He simply nodded and looked up at her helplessly. Gumi ruffled his hair and said

"Well then, why don't you come up to my room? It won't be so scary alone." She smiled brightly at him. He hopped down off his chair and nodded again.

Back in Gumi's room, she sat down on her couch and patted the seat beside her for Nigaito to come and sit. He hesitantly sat beside her. It thundered again, and he curled up and buried his face in his knees. He trembled, so Gumi moved closer to him. Trying to take his mind off of it, she said

"So, how old are you?" Nigaito raised his head a little and said

"F-fifteen…" Gumi looked surprised and said

"Really? I am too! I thought you were a lot younger than that." Nigaito smiled slightly and said

"Yeah… I get that a lot." With every roll of thunder, he flinched. Gumi frowned, wishing there was something she could do. She hugged him lightly and said

"I'm sorry you're scared. By the way, thank you for the card. It was really thoughtful." Nigaito blushed and fidgeted nervously a bit.

"Y-you're welcome… but why are you being so nice? I mean… we just met…" Gumi released him and quickly replied

"I'm sorry! I just feel the need to help people in whatever way I can… it's just this thing I feel like I should do since I was alone a lot as a child. It's kind why I wanted to come here." Nigaito looked up at her said quietly

"I didn't mean I didn't like it… It was actually pretty comforting…" Gumi hugged him again and said

"As long as you're happy."

Soon afterwards, Nigaito fell asleep. Gumi gently laid his head down and went back to her bed.

"Goodnight, Nigaito." She whispered from across the room.

The next morning, Miku came to wake Gumi up. When she stepped through the door and saw Nigaito asleep on the couch, she said

"Gumi, your first night here, and you have a boy in your room? Aren't you popular?" She asked raising her eyebrow. Gumi sleepily responded

"He was just in here because he's afraid of storms! That's all, and hush! You'll wake him up!"

Miku giggled and nodded, running down the stairs. After an interesting first night, Gumi was settling in nicely, and in a couple of hours she would be doing her first recording in the ACTUAL vocaloid studio! She couldn't wait.


	2. First Day in Town!

After breakfast, everyone filed into the bus to head to the recording studio. Gumi's hear was racing with excitement. It was her first time ever recording a song with the other vocaloids. They had received directions from Master the night before. Gumi was to be grouped with Miku and Meiko. She was happy with that. She had heard high praise about Miku from Master. Meiko seemed nice enough. The song they were to sing was 'Melt'. Gumi was very familiar with it. It was the kind of cute sappy song she was best at. Humming it lightly in the back seat, suddenly, she was interrupted by Miku's shrill, cheerful voice.

"And when I walked in, he was right there, asleep on the couch! How cute is that?" The whole bus erupted with "AWW!" and Gumi jumped to her feet and said

"Miku! You promised not to say anything about that!" Miku laughed and said nervously

"But it was so cute I just had to tell them! Sorry Gumi-chan!" Gumi sat back down and smiled slightly. She glanced over at Nigaito who blushed a little and stared out the window. Pulling into the recording studio, everybody impatiently made their way out of the bus.

**Gumi's POV**

I stared up at the tall building. From all of the commotion on the bus, I hadn't noticed that we had entered a rather large city. Being from a small town, I wasn't used to all of the buildings that had roofs stretching up to the sky. I followed everyone into the building and we went up in a crowded elevator. Entering the room at the top, we all ran through our songs a few times and then we stopped for lunch. Rin and Len walked up to me.

"How are you enjoying your first day?" They asked simultaneously. I smiled and replied

"It's been really fun!" Miku came over and said

"You two trouble-makers better not give Gumi any trouble, understand?" They grinned mischievously and said

"Now, why would we do such a thing?"

The three became lost in conversation with each other, so I wandered off down the hallway. A beautiful noise touched my ears, and I followed it. Looking through the window of one of the doors, I saw Kaito and his brothers singing together. I cracked the door so I could hear well. Kaito was a surprisingly good singer for his goofy attitude. I looked to the right of him and saw Akaito and Taito, his brothers that I met on the bus this morning. Their voices were all similar, but varying in pitch. Then my gaze drifted to Nigaito. His soft, high pitched voice was adorable…

_Wait, why am I thinking this?_ I wondered. _I just met him!_

But his voice really did enchant me. I recognized the song they were singing. 'Last night, Good night'.

They ended the song beautifully.

"Oyasumi…"

I found myself clapping without meaning to. They looked over and Kaito glared at me.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop! What if this was supposed to be a private conversation or something?" he said unhappily. Nigaito stopped his brother.

"She wasn't eavesdropping, she was just listening, and she clapped for us, so we should be t-thankful…" he stammered.

_He is so sweet…_ I let my thoughts drift off again. I smiled.

"Thank you, Nigaito!" I said. He smiled back.

"You're welcome! So, where is everybody else?" he asked

"They're eating lunch in the other room. You want to come too?"

"Sure!" He said, and followed me out of the room.

**Nigaito's POV**

Gumi invited to go to lunch with her, so I followed her. I hoped she was having a nice first day. I hated that I was shorter than her despite being the same age. I looked up at her and said

"Hey, Gumi?" She looked down and smiled.

"Yes, what is it?" I started thinking then.

_That's what I like about her… she's always smiling no matter what, and she's so pleasant to be around. There should be more people like her…_

I realized I had become lost in thought and I laughed nervously.

"Ha-ha. I was just wondering how your day was going."

"It's been wonderful! I'm looking forward to walking downtown with everyone later." I tilted my head to the side at that statement. I hadn't heard of this. She saw my look of confusion and said

"You're welcome to come along. I'm sure they just hadn't told you yet since you were still singing." She looked the other way.

"Also, um… You sing really well." I couldn't help but stand there and blush. Feeling somewhat stupid, I stared at my shoes and replied

"You too…" we walked in silence for the rest of the way.

When we met up with everybody, we all walked downtown together to look in the shops. First we stopped at a candy shop. We all looked through different boxes of chocolate and taffy. There were gigantic lollipops on a stand by the door that were as big as my head! Gumi looked about the shop, and eventually turned to the manager and asked eagerly

"Do you have any Carrot cake? Or anything carrot flavored for that matter?" The manager laughed at her and said

"No, I don't believe we do. Perhaps they would have something at the bakery on the next floor?" Gumi rushed up the stairs and was back within a minute holding a box labeled "World's best carrot cake"

She happily walked out of the store with the rest of us.

Wide-eyed, I looked at her and asked

"Wow, Gumi. You really like carrots, don't you?" She nodded; too busy eating to give an actual response.

The next place we stopped at was a clothing store. All of the girls rushed in the store all excited, but the rest of us waited outside. Mikuo mumbled something that sounded like

"I don't understand girls…" Kaito laughed and then looked over at me.

"By the way, Nigaito," He started, and I didn't like the sound of his voice.

"You and Gumi seem to be getting along rather well." Everybody started staring at me, and I felt very uncomfortable. I hate people staring at me.

"I… um… well, I g-guess… she's n-nice." I stammered. They all focused their eyes on my and laughed.

"Yeah, I bet that's all." Akaito said.

"Onii-san…" I pleaded, blushing.

Right about then, the girls walked out of the building. Suddenly, I found myself standing behind Gumi.

_Great, now I seem helpless._ I thought. I sighed.

"Gumi… Please do something about them." I said quietly. She looked confused and then stared at my brothers.

"What did you guys do to him?" She asked. Akaito just said

"So now you have to protect him?" then he laughed and walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Gumi." I was very glad they didn't mention what we were talking about. She smiled and said

"You're welcome! Just learn how to stand up for yourself. Don't let them pick on you." I sighed again.

"Okay…" I said.

**Gumi's POV**

Walking through all the stores today was fun. I wonder what Akaito and the guys were bugging Nigaito about. Oh well! When I walked through the door of my room my cellphone lit up and started ringing. I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked. A person whose voice I didn't recognize said

"Gumi Megpoid… Tomorrow night, at 9:00, come to the park. Come alone. Don't tell anyone about this." Before I could say anything, the person hung up the phone, and I was left in my room, shaking with fear.

**Ooh! Cliff hanger! I'll try to get chapter 3 up tomorrow, so look forward to it!**


	3. The Strange Man in the Park

"Gumi? Earth to Gumi!" Miku shouted. Gumi quickly looked up and said

"Oh, What?"

"I've been saying your name for like three whole minutes!" she said impatiently.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a bit distracted."

Her mind went back to the mysterious phone call last night. She thought about it all through breakfast. She hardly ate anything. Being concerned, Nigaito asked

"Are you ok, Gumi?"

"I'm perfectly fine!" she said laughing.

When night came, she quietly got out of bed and snuck down the hallway. Hearing her footsteps, Nigaito barely opened his door to catch a glimpse of Gumi hopping down the stairs. Since she had been acting weird all day, he decided to follow her. Trying not to be noticed, he tip-toed down the stairs after her. Unfortunately, he tripped on the last step, making the board creak. Gumi snapped her head around.

"What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"I could ask you that. You've been acting weird all day and now you're sneaking around after everybody is asleep. What's going on?" he asked. Gumi sighed and they went to the living room and sat down.

"Well, last night I got a phone call from someone I don't know. They told me to come to the park tonight at 9:45 alone. They also said not to tell anyone about this… Nigaito, I'm scared." She said with fear in her eyes.

Nigaito patted her shoulder and said

"Don't worry. I have a plan. I'll follow you, but I won't let myself be noticed. That way if there's trouble, I can help. I'll keep my phone in my hand too in case there's serious danger."

"But what if you get hurt? I mean, no offense, but you don't really seem like you could protect yourself, none the less protect someone else." Nigaito lowered his head and said

"I'll go get Akaito… we can trust him…"

Akaito, still half asleep, followed Nigaito out the door with Gumi as they explained what was happening. As they neared the park, Nigaito and Akaito fell a little behind Gumi and hid between the trees and bushes. Gumi sat on the bench and waited. In a few moments, a man in a black cloak walked up and said

"Gumi Megpoid… I have been waiting for you…"

From a distance, in the woods, Akaito mumbled

"I'm pretty sure she got here first, so technically, she was waiting for you…" Nigaito giggled and then said

"Onii-san, don't talk. He'll notice us."

Gumi took a deep breath and said

"What do you want with me?" The man looked down at her. All she could see of his face were his dark, red eyes.

"I want you to perish. Ever since you came here, you have been so lucky. You've made friends, you've become a wonderful singer, and everybody likes you! People like you need to learn what it's like… what it's like to have nothing!"

Gumi gasped and stood up. Before she could run, the man grabbed her wrist. His fingernails were sharp like claws, and they dug into her skin. She screamed.

"Let go of me!" she said harshly.

Akaito rushed out from the trees to protect Gumi, and Nigaito called the police, and then Miku so she could contact the rest of the vocaloids. The man pulled a knife from his pocket and lashed out at Gumi. It scratched her face before Akaito was able to stop him. He grabbed the knife from the man and tossed it to the side.

"Fighting girls is cowardly, especially innocent ones. It sounds to me like you're just jealous!" The man growled and launched a punch towards Akaito, but before it could hit, Akaito stopped it with one hand, and punched the man in the face with the other. As the man was about to hit back, a police car pulled up, and an officer stepped out and ran in with a gun.

"Stop where you are!" he shouted.

The man in the cloak didn't obey. He took off dashing the other way.

"Don't worry, we'll catch him. In the meantime, please go to the hospital for your wounds. We'll take care of this." The officer said to Gumi.

Gumi nodded.

As the three of them were walking down the sidewalk to the hospital, Gumi hear a muffled sound from behind them. Gumi and Akaito turned around to see Nigaito looking up at Gumi with tears streaming down his face.

"G-G-Gumi …" he said softly. Gumi hugged him.

"Please don't cry. Everything's alright." Akaito nodded.

"Yeah, Megpoid's the one who got hurt, not you." Nigaito stared at his brother

"That's why I'm worried!" Gumi ruffled his hair.

"I'm alright. It's just a few scratches. It'll be better soon." The little green-headed boy only cried harder.

"But it could have been much worse! We shouldn't have even come here tonight!" Gumi smiled weakly and said

"It wasn't though, and since we came, we figured out what was going on, and now the criminal will probably be caught. Everything worked out fine."

They walked along with Gumi guiding (sort of dragging) Nigaito along by his hand. Nigaito wiped his eyes and sniffled.

At the hospital, a nurse treated Gumi's wounds and told her to go home and rest. When they got home, Miku and everybody else ran up to Gumi, choking her with hugs.

"You're ok! We were all SOOOOOO worried about you!" Miku shouted. They all ran like children around her asking if she was alright, and what happened. Gumi told them all she just wanted to rest for a second. Sitting on the couch in between Miku and Nigaito, Rin brought her a cup of hot chocolate.

**Nigaito's POV**

I was sitting next to Gumi on the couch. I was still really worried about her, but she kept saying she was fine. Looking at the clock, I noticed it was almost one in the morning. I hadn't realized how long we were gone. I was just thinking about how tired I was when I felt something on my shoulder. I looked to see Gumi leaning her head against my shoulder, asleep. My face grew hot and I looked up at everyone to see them staring at us. Rin screeched

"AWWWWW!" I looked down, trying to hide my face. I didn't mind Gumi, but I hated being stared at. As I was about to protest I felt sleepiness come over me. I yawned. Before I could say anything, the room went black and I was asleep.

**Gumi's POV**

When I woke up, I was lying against Nigaito, and his head was on top of mine. I quickly caught my breath.

_His sleeping face is so adorable…_ I thought, but then scolded myself.

_Don't, he probably doesn't even like me that way… It's not like I like him either. We're just friends. That's all…_

I looked back at him, and he started waking up. He sleepily opened his eyes and then scrambled away from me.

"Gumi! I'm so s-sorry!" I blushed and attempted to smile.

"It's alright! Don't worry… um… so… are you hungry?"

"A little bit…" He mumbled.

I walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. Usually there is a cook here, but she was on vacation, so we were left to cook for ourselves. The smell must have woken the rest of the house up, because one by one they wandered down the stairs. Sleepily, Miku walked over to me and said

"What are you making?" I grinned and said

"Omelets with cheese and carrot!" Miku laughed and replied

"Of course."

After eating breakfast, we decided to take a walk outside. It was chilly, so I pulled on my jacket. The November air cut through it though, and I was still cold. Walking along the side of the street, Mikuo asked where we wanted to go. (It was his turn to decide, but he couldn't make up his mind.) Taito smiled mischievously and said

"How about the park?" Akaito and Nigaito glared at him and Miku smacked him with her purse. I just laughed and said

"I wouldn't mind that. Besides, isn't there supposed to be some kind of art show today?" Miku sighed and said

"But art is so boring!" Mikuo yanked on her pigtail and said

"Come on. Grow up! Besides, you might learn something." Miku glared at him and we walked down to the park.

After the art show, we all walked back home talking about it. Kaito accidently knocked over one of the artist's paintings. Luckily it wasn't damaged, and the artist actually let us come inside his trailer and gave us some drawing tips. (I didn't really pay attention since I was terrible at art anyway) As the night drew nearer, the wind picked up and it became colder. Shivering, I pulled my jacket tighter around me. Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft wrap around me. I looked down at Nigaito, who had given me his Jacket and said

"Nigaito, thank you…" I blushed and he looked away.

"You looked cold…" he said simply. Then we got home and after a quick dinner, we all went straight to sleep. Little did I know, the time I loved spending with these people was soon about to be cut short. I would have been happy with my normal, peaceful life, but I was about to go on a life changing journey.


	4. The Vocaloid's Christmas

**Hey! This chapter is about Christmas with the Vocaloids! This will be fun!**

**Nigaito: W-what do you mean by fun?**

**Gumi: Don't worry; I'm sure she means us no harm.**

**Me: *cough*that's what you guys think anyway*cough* Anyways, I don't own Vocaloid or any part of it! Enjoy!**

**Gumi's POV**

This morning we were all awoken by Miku's shrill screaming.

"You guys, I just realized something!" She shouted as loud as she could. Mikuo clapped his hand over her mouth and shouted back equally as loud

"We hear you! What is it?"

"It's three days until Christmas! That's also the day that Gumi will have been here exactly six months! That's half a year!" She giggled and skipped around the breakfast table. I sat down and starting to eat breakfast (which was eggs, bacon, and toast with jelly) I realized how fast time went by. I smiled to myself and looked up at my friends. Rin was bouncing around with Miku asking everybody what they wanted for Christmas. She came to me.

"What do you want, Gumi?" She asked. I thought for a while and then said

"I don't really know. I don't have anything that I actually want, so surprise me." I smiled. Taito smiled and looked at Akaito.

"You could probably get her a carrot, and she'd be perfectly happy." He said. Kaito laughed with them, and Nigaito walked over to me. He sat down beside me. Looking thoughtful, he asked

"Are you sure there's nothing you really want?" I smiled at him and said

"Not that I can think of. I'm just glad to be here with you guys!" Everybody crowded around me and hugged me. Miku shouted

"Gumi-chan! You're so sweet! We love you!" I laughed, having trouble breathing with them all on top of me.

"You guys! You're squishing me!" They all laughed and backed off. Then Meiko said

"I know! Why don't we go down to town today and go Christmas shopping? Then we can get it done and still have lots of time to decorate and invite people and cook and stuff! We can have a good Christmas part this year! Last year was terrible…" I asked about it and Kaito said

"Well, last year half of us got sick with the flu, and there was a huge blizzard that knocked out the power and trapped us inside for like two weeks. It was terrible and we were bored out of our minds!" I was glad I hadn't been there for that. I never really liked the cold. I certainly didn't want to be trapped inside my house during a blizzard for two weeks!

We decided to go to town that afternoon. We got down there and Miku, taking lead, stepped up on top of a bench and said

"Ok everybody!" nobody looked at her. She tried again to get our attention, but again, failed. Mikuo laughed. Running his hand through her hair, he said

"Miku, the fact that you have to stand on a bench to see everybody disqualifies you enough. Here, I'll take care of it." Miku blushed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Whatever!" She said. Mikuo waved his hand

"Everyone! Please pay attention! I realize you all have different places you want to shop, but don't run off by yourself! Pick a buddy to stay close to and be back here in two hours!"

"Ok!" we all replied. Miku glared at Mikuo.

"Why do they all listen to you?" she asked. He laughed and said

"It's just a talent."

I was looking around for someone who didn't already have a partner when Nigaito walked up to me.

"D-do you want to come with me?" he asked. I smiled and said

"Sure. Where do you want to go first?" He looked at the sidewalk and said

"I'm not sure. You pick first." I started thinking and finally said

"How about that accessory store down there? I saw something there I thought would be perfect for Miku."

We walked around different places for a while when Nigaito asked me again

"Gumi, is there really nothing you want? I really wanted to get you a nice present…" I laughed nervously and said

"You don't have to get me anything." He looked sad and replied

"But I want to…" I blushed and said

"Well then, what about you? What do you want?" He seemed surprised.

"I don't want anything. You've already given me so much! You've helped me with a lot already…" We walked in silence for a little bit without making eye contact. It was rather uncomfortable. Just as it was getting unbearable, it suddenly started snowing. I looked up at the clouds. The fluffy white flakes floated down and one landed on my forehead. I brushed it away and giggled. Nigaito looked concerned.

"You're not too cold, are you?" I shook my head.

"I'm ok! Don't worry." He nodded and said

"Well, we'd better head back. Mikuo might be mad if we're late."

**Nigaito's POV**

When we got back it was snowing steadily. Rin and Miku fluttered about the house bugging people to come play in the snow with them. Gumi and I were helping Mikuo, Meiko, and Kaito put up the Christmas tree and decorate. Akaito and Taito were playing a game on Taito's computer. After the tree was up, we called Miku and Rin over. We all took turns putting our ornaments on it. It was prettier than ever before. We all had fun too. For the first time this year, there were no arguments about where the ornaments should go, and nobody was bitter over some silly misunderstandings. I looked over at Gumi. She was smiling brightly and talking about cookies with Len and Rin.

"Can we make carrot flavored cookies? Please?" she asked. I laughed softly to myself.

_This is because of her._ I started thinking.

_Things have been so much brighter and happier since she came._

"Nigaito!"

"What?" I turned around. It was Gumi.

"I've been calling you for a while now. Are you ok?"

"Yeah!" I said. "Just thinking about something."

"Oh, ok. Well, can you help me with something? I can't find the star that goes on the top of the tree."

"I know where it is. Just follow me." I led her up the stairs to the attic. It was an old room with lots of cobwebs and bugs. We only came in here to get Christmas decorations, so it's usually dusty and dark.

The floorboards squeaked and a cold wind rushed through the cracks around the window. It made a low humming noise, and Gumi suddenly was clinging to my arm.

"G-Gumi? What's wrong?" I asked.

"G-g-ghost!" She stuttered.

"There aren't any ghosts in here, just dust and old things. I promise." She looked at me and blushed.

"You're sure?" I nodded and smiled. She stared at the wall.

"Okay… sorry about that…" I laughed and said  
>"It's ok. Oh, here's the star!" I picked up a box that said 'Christmas tree star' on it. Gumi took it and said<p>

"Thank you!"

When we got back and put the star on the top of the tree, the whole room had been decorated with red and green. Everybody had put their stocking on the fireplace, except for Gumi.

"I didn't really think about bringing one when I came here. I'm sorry." Taito stood towering above us and said

"Leave is to me." with that, he returned to his room. Gumi looked confused, if not slightly afraid. I laughed and said

"Taito-nii is unexpectedly good at sewing things." Gumi smiled.

"Oh, I see." Taito returned in less than half an hour with a fluffy, red and white sock. Gumi bowed her head.

"Thank you!" Miku laughed.

"Wow, Taito that was fast!" Taito simply nodded and sat down on the couch.

**Gumi's POV**

When night finally came, I went to my room to discover it was freezing.

_Oh right, my room is the only room in the house that doesn't have a heater…_

Now was a terrible time to remember that. I walked down to Miku's room. I walked in to find she was snoring loudly. There was no way I could sleep with that! I tried Rin's room. She was arguing with Len at the time.

"What do you want?" They asked unhappily as I walked in the room.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you!" I apologized and left. I was about to knock on Meiko's door when I hear shouting from beyond the door.

"You zombies! Stay away!" I laughed nervously and backed away from the door.

_I'm not even going to try…_ I thought. I walked up to Nigaito's door. I didn't want to bother him, but I had no other choice. It was here or freeze. I knocked on the door and heard a sleepy

"Come in…" I walked in and Nigaito was sitting at his desk finishing a book. He turned around and smiled sweetly.

"Gumi? You couldn't sleep? Come sit down." I sat down on his couch, and too tired to answer, I closed my eyes. I was about to fall asleep when he sat down beside me and put his arms around me.

"Your room is cold, right?" My face heated up and I slowly nodded.

"Well, I don't mind if you stay here." He said. I nodded again and yawned. I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. He put his head on top of mine.

"Goodnight, Gumi…" He said softly, and we both fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, he was still sleeping soundly, so I quietly crept out of his room and down to the kitchen. Miku stormed over to me.

"Where were you? I looked in your room and you weren't there!" Kaito walked over to us and said

"She was with Nigaito." I blushed and asked

"How do you know that?" He sighed and said

"I walked in to borrow a pen from Nigaito and saw you two there all snuggly… I'm so jealous! Why doesn't anybody love me?" I shook my head rapidly and said

"You guys don't understand! See, my room isn't heated, so it's freezing in there! Nigaito was just being nice…" Miku nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Whatever, Gumi!" She said and then walked away. Everybody was busy eating breakfast when Nigaito walked downstairs. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and Akaito said

"Nice of you to join the rest of us, sleepyhead." Nigaito laughed and said down beside me.

"Thank you…" I whispered so only he could hear. He smiled again and said

"You're welcome." I don't know what I'd do without his smiles.

Christmas Eve went by uneventful. By then we had all finished our Christmas shopping and we had made lots of cookies and other snacks. I even found a great present for Nigaito. On Christmas morning, we all rushed down stairs. Miku was asleep on the couch. Mikuo walked over and poked her. She instantly sat up.

"Oh no!" She shouted. "I fell asleep! I was waiting for Santa Clause!" she grabbed Mikuo's sleeve, so he sat down beside her.

"I missed him again this year! It's not fair!" Mikuo looked down at her and said

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to be seen…" but by the time he had answered, she was already asleep again. He picked her up and said

"I'll take Miku to her room. She'll be disappointed later though…"

When he had returned, we started opening presents. Everybody mingled cheerfully. I searched the room and found Nigaito. Walking over to him, I held out a box.

"I got you something." He smiled and said

"Thank you. I got you something too." We exchanged boxes and I opened mine. It contained a soft, green hat that had a carrot shape sewn onto it. I put it on my head and giggled.

"I like this. Thank you!" I said and hugged him.

"I'm glad you like it!" He opened the box I handed him. It was a book. He looked surprised and said

"How did you know I wanted this?" I smiled and replied

"Well, the other night when I was in your room, I noticed the book you were reading, and this book was by the same author, so I thought you would like it!" He looked back at me happily and said

"Thank you so much, Gumi!"

We spent the morning talking and eating cookies. Miku finally wandered down the stairs, not remembering what happened. (Knowing her, that's probably for the best.) She opened my present to her. It was a teal colored mega-phone. Her eyes glowed and she smiled at me.

"Gumi! This is exactly what I need!" She pressed the button on it and said

"Merry Christmas everyone!" we all laughed and said

"Merry Christmas!" Mikuo looked at me frantically and said

"No! You don't realize what you've done! Now she'll never shut up!" I giggled and said

"Sorry. I'm glad she likes it though." We all went back to talking and running about the house, filled with Christmas spirit.

Later, Nigaito walked up to me and did something unexpected. His face was red and he smiled and said

"Gumi, thank you for making this the best Christmas ever." Then he kissed my cheek and ran away.

**Well, that's it for this chapter!**

**Gumi: Nigaito-**

**Me: No! You can't say anything yet!**

**Nigaito: You're not seriously going to make us wait another chapter are you?**

**Me: Sure am!**

**Gumi: But-**

**Me: I said no! So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review! I'll try to get the next one as soon as I get a chance!**


	5. Nigaito and Gumi

**Hey guys! Finally got this chapter done. Sorry it took so long. I've been busy getting stuff ready to go back to school. So! Right where we left off!**

**By the way, first of all, I don't own vocaloid! Second of all, if you're a Taito fan, this chapter may be hard for you… **

**Gumi's POV**

The Christmas event was unexpected. I even avoided Nigaito after that. It's not that I was angry with him. It was just too awkward. I still don't know how I feel about him, or even what he meant to convey by kissing me. Part of me was saying that he was probably just doing that as a thank you, but another part of me wanted it to be something more. Either way, I didn't feel comfortable just being around him like normal.

I had been avoiding him for a while when I suddenly met up with him in the hallway. Everyone was out shopping, and I was walking back to my room to get my jacket when I saw his fluffy green hair whip around the corner. After having not talked to him in so long, I didn't know what to say. He stood in front of me, staring with his big, light green eyes. He smiled weakly. He fiddled with the fabric on his scarf for a little while, and said

"Um… well… Hi, Gumi! I…" Without him saying another word, I turned around to walk away.

"Don't talk to me right now…" I automatically regretted doing so. I couldn't take it back though. I walked away, ignoring the tiny whimper behind me.

**Nigaito's POV**

"Don't talk to me right now…"

Her words stung. I wanted to call her out and try to explain things. Words wouldn't come to me though. I stood helplessly, watching as she walked down the stairs. Sadness tugged at my heart. I sulked back to my room. Taito, Kaito, and Akaito were there.

"Nigaito!" They said cheerily "You're back. What was that noise outside?"

I sat down beside Taito and answered

"Gumi is still mad at me…" Kaito laughed and said

"Nice one. What'd you do?"

"I kissed her…"

"Good job. Wait a minute; I thought you guys were in love."

"We're not like that! I mean…"

"Well, if you kissed her then obviously you like her."

"Yeah, but she doesn't like me that way…" Taito sat down on the other side of me. He messed up my hair and said

"Do you know that for sure? Have you asked her how she feels?"

"No, but she's been avoiding me ever since Christmas…" Akaito slowly slipped out the door. I slightly giggled at that. He wasn't much for giving advice, and he really didn't like romance. Taito suggested that I confront her and ask her directly.

"I'm not sure if she'll let me talk to her… she might ignore me." I said. He smiled and said

"Isn't it worth it?" I opened my eyes wider and hugged him.

"I'll try… Thank you, Taito-nii."

After that, we got Akaito to come with us to see a movie. It was a creepy horror movie. I kept my eyes shut tightly the whole time. I'm not one for scary things, but when we came back outside, I saw something even scarier… We were talking and laughing. I was halfway across the street when Akaito shouted

"Nigaito, Look out!"

I hadn't even noticed that there was a car in front of me. There was no way I could move out of the way in time. As I braced myself for the impact, Taito jumped out and pushed me away. Everything was a blur. The next thing I knew, I was standing beside him in a hospital room. He was lying on a stretcher with lots of bandages. He wasn't moving. I couldn't hear anything, but I knew I was screaming. It was still blurry. He was covered in blood and doctors moved about the room quickly. One of them forcefully pulled me off of Taito's body and told me to go home.

With much reluctance, I found myself in my own room, sitting in the floor by my desk with my head buried in my knees. The tears wouldn't stop coming to my eyes. I heard a knock on my door, but I didn't answer it. I hoped whoever it was would just go away, but they didn't. The door opened. I heard footsteps. Someone's gentle hand ruffled my hair. I heard their voice and recognized it immediately.

"What's wrong?" They said. I lifted my head up to see a green blur in front of me.

"G-Gumi…"

**Gumi's POV**

I walked down the hallway. I had been in town that day, and had no clue about Taito's death. I passed Nigaito's door and heard crying from inside. It concerned me, and even though it was awkward, I couldn't ignore him. It was probably my fault anyway…

I knocked on the door, but he didn't answer, so I let myself in. He was curled up by his desk. I walked over to him and ran my hand through his hair.

_It's still so soft…_ I thought to myself.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"G-Gumi…" he said, surprised. I sat down beside him and he cried into my shoulder.

"T-Taito is dead…" he sobbed. I was shocked.

"What?" I said

"He's dead… it's all my fault! I was being stupid and walked out in front of a car! He jumped in front of me to protect me, and the car hit him!"

On instinct I hugged him and stroked his hair.

"It's not your fault." I said reassuringly. He eventually said

"And… You don't like me anymore…" That felt terrible. It wasn't that I didn't like him. I hugged him tighter.

"If I didn't like you, then why would I be here?" He looked at me and said

"Gumi, I love you." I blushed and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"I love you too." It was so easy to say after he had confirmed that. He looked surprised.

"Really? You do? And you're not just pitying me?" I nodded.

"I love you. You always make me happy, and you try to help people whenever you can, even if it's inconvenient to you." He looked at the floor.

"But… I thought that nobody could like a person like me… I'm like a little kid and I'm kind of boring…"

"I don't think so. You want to protect people, and you're not boring. I always have fun when I'm with you."

"Gumi?"

"Yes?" He kissed me again. I suddenly heard someone say

"Awww…" I looked at the door and saw Kaito. Nigaito's face turned bright red and he marched up to the door.

**Nigaito's POV**

"Kaito-nii! Go away!" I said in an irritated voice. Kaito laughed and said

"I always knew you two would end up together. Sorry for interrupting!" He left.

When I turned around, Gumi was standing right in front of me. She hugged me. Well, pretty much tackled me. Now she was crying softly. It was shocking. She had always smiled around me. I didn't like seeing her unhappy.

"Nigaito…" She said "I'm sorry… I didn't want to ignore you that way. It was lonely without you and I was scared. I didn't mean to do anything to make you unhappy… and I'm sorry about Taito…" I hugged her back and stroked her hair.

"Don't be sorry. It's my fault."

"It is not!" she said insistently.

"What's not his fault?" a voice said from the doorway. I turned around to see who I thought was Taito, but that couldn't be, right? He was dead. It was certainly him though. His black hair, and dark, warm eyes… they were the same. Taito walked over to me and messed my hair up roughly.

"What's up?" He asked. I stood silent for a moment, still confused.

"I thought… you were dead…" I managed to say. He laughed and hugged me tightly.

"I'm a vocaloid, remember? We're robots. We can't really die. Master had my fixed up and I'm fine now." I was clinging to his jacket.

"Taito-nii… are you sure you're ok? You aren't mad at me?"

"How could anyone be mad at you?" He asked. I laughed softly and said

"I'm glad you're ok!" he nodded and asked

"So, you two made up?"

"Yeah." I said. "Thank you for encouraging me. You were right." Taito let go of me and walked out of the room.

"That's because I'm always right." He said. Gumi laughed and took my hand.

"Everything's ok now!" she said happily. I tightened my grip on her hand and said

"Yup. I'm glad everything turned out well." As I said that, her phone rang. She picked it up and said hello. The person on the other end said

"Good evening, Gumi. I need you to go on a little adventure for me…"

**That's all you get for now!*Laughs maniacally* The dreadful cliffhangers! Who is on the other end of the phone? What do they mean by adventure? You'll have to wait for next time to find out! Please review! I'd really like to know what you guys think! I don't mind negative reviews. Tell me how you think I could make the story better!**


	6. New Friends at the Ocean

**I finally had time to write chapter 6! *claps* I still don't own vocaloid. Sorry I took so long, and here's the story!**

**Gumi's POV**

It turned out; Master wanted me to go down south to visit a second group of vocaloids. I don't know any of them, but Nigaito promised to come with me, so hopefully things will go well. We finally arrived at the other house. I stepped out of the van and smelled the perfume like air. It was considerably warmer than I was used to, and the breeze was pleasant. Spring had already visited this side of the country and some cherry trees were in full bloom.

"I guess we're here now." I said staring up at the house, nearly identical to my own.

"Yeah, this place is a bit too warm though." Nigaito replied, removing his jacket. I laughed and said

"That's because we're near the equator." He smiled

"Does that mean there's an ocean nearby?" He asked. I raised my eyes to the sky and smelled the air.

"Probably; maybe we can go to the beach sometime." Nigaito's eyes lit up.

"I've never been to a beach before." We were having a wonderful conversation until a redheaded woman interrupted and lead us to the door of the house.

"Well, don't be mingling on the sidewalk; you're in the way. Here's your temporary home. I hope you find it adequate." Her voice was monotone and irritated. I was guessing she was the landlord here.

Nigaito and I wandered in the house to find all the lights off.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and I was surrounded by unfamiliar people.

"Welcome!" They said warmly. I surveyed them as they introduced themselves. A girl with dark pink pigtails approached me. Her voice was squeaky.

"I'm Teto! Like, Welcome to our home!" She said. I smiled.

"It's nice to meet you." She was just like Miku, but pink and younger. Another girl with a lighter pink hair came up and introduced herself as Luka. She then quietly dismissed herself to a chair in the corner with a fish. She was strange, but nice enough. Then I met Piko, a silver-haired boy with a cord sticking out of his back. He was well-mannered and said to ask him if I needed anything. He and Nigaito quickly made friends. Then a purple haired guy with a sword approached me. I'm not going to lie; He was just plain creepy. His name was Gakupo. I'll definitely remember that. I also met a redheaded girl named Miki. She was hyper and apparently, very fond of Piko. He shyly asked her to leave him alone after she clung to him.

"Please don't behave this way. We have guests right now." He said. I giggled and Nigaito and I went to find our rooms. There was a beautiful view of the whole town from the top of the building. I looked at Nigaito and said

"Let's go explore town later!" He smiled and agreed.

**Nigaito's POV**

We went to town that afternoon with Piko as a guide. There was a cute souvenir shop. Gumi happily found carrot juice. It seems like that's all she drinks. Piko was explaining to us how the bus system worked. It was rather confusing, and I couldn't understand why the bus didn't travel in a circle around town, but went in the most time consuming path possible.

"It's best to ride a bike or walk." Piko enlightened us. Gumi laughed.

"I don't know. It might be fun to ride the bus if it's weird. Just like a little adventure!" I hesitantly took her hand in mine.

"It's… Ok if I hold your hand, right?" I asked. She smiled brightly.

"You don't have to ask that, Nigaito. Of course it's fine." I was happy, but then I felt Piko's stare on the back of my head. I wondered if it was making him uncomfortable. He suddenly said

"Well, why don't we just go home for today? We can visit the beach tomorrow." His usual pleasant smile had disappeared from his face. Gumi and I agreed and followed him home in silence, occasionally exchanging worried glances.

We got back to the house and were informed by Teto of why we were here. We were supposed to pick one person from all of these people to come back to the main vocaloid house with us. When we returned, we were introduced to Teto's older brother, Ted. He had the same red-pink hair but it was longer and tied back in a ponytail. We, as representatives, were supposed to determine the best of them. This was going to be a bit difficult…

We proceeded to hold a contest to decide. Well… sort of.

"Gumi, I don't know about this. I've never judged anything before." I said uncertainly. She smiled weakly.

"Well, just do the best we can I suppose."

Teto was first. She sang the song melt. It was squeaky and very… Miku-like. We dismissed her and welcomed the next participant. Ted told us that he would not be trying out.

"To give my sister a better chance…" he explained. It was a nice favor, but to be honest, Teto definitely wouldn't be my first choice. (No offense Teto fans! It's not my opinion, but Nigaito's!)

We continued on. Luka sang Double Lariat. Gakupo's song was unrecognizable. After he left the stage, Gumi removed her hands from her ears.

"I liked Teto better…" she mumbled disdainfully. Miki sang last night, good night. It was acceptable. Then Piko approached the stage. (By stage I mean plank of wood in the living room.)

He sang Sayonara Memories. I unconsciously favored his song, since Gumi also sings that song. It was a nice rendition of it too. It was pleasant to listen to and it wasn't too loud or too soft. It suited his voice well. Now we had to discuss everyone's performance and pick someone. I believed that it wouldn't be too hard for me to decide, and I'm sure Gumi was in agreement. There was no discussion…

**Ha-ha. Sorry the chapter was short. It's all going somewhere, I promise! Keep reading! Reviews are welcome. Encouragement and constructive criticism would be wonderful! Thank you!**


	7. Piko Hates the Beach

**Another Chapter! Yay! There's going to be a sprinkle of Miki and Piko in this chapter. Don't like, don't read. I don't own vocaloid.**

**Piko's POV**

I woke up and rubbed my eyes sleepily. I had awoken with a headache again, great. Nigaito and Gumi said the winner of the contest wouldn't be announced until tonight. We were going to the beach today. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled. I never liked the beach, and we live so close, it's not really an exciting thing. I wandered down the stairs. I was greeted by the usual assorted shouts from everyone. Everyone was excited for today, except me. I hid my boredom though.

"Good morning everyone," I said with my fake, polite smile, "Today is going to be fun, isn't it?"

They failed once again to see through my act and I almost wished someone would notice.

We got in pairs to get on the bus. It was Nigaito and Gumi, Luka and Gakupo (much to Luka's irritation), Teto and Ted, and Miki and I. I was fine with that. Not that it mattered; nobody in this neighborhood actually knows me for who I am. The bus ride was awkward… Gakupo had a nightmare about being chased by eggplants. He woke up screaming.

"I'm gonna kill you all!" He shouted with his eyes closed. He grabbed his sword and jumped about the bus, scaring the bus driver half to death. We tried to contain him to his seat, but he shouted more.

"You thought I'd be off guard after all this time, but let me tell you, you'll never get me!" he threw the sword in a random direction, and it broke through the window, startling some innocent bystanders.

"The evil little purple guys, they're after me!" He glared at Luka and said "You! You must be their leader!" Luka smacked him on the head and said

"Shut up, and wake up, you idiot!" He shook his head wildly and then blinked.

"Hey guys, what's up? Are we at the beach yet?" he asked.

"No…" we returned simultaneously and sat back down in silence for the rest of the way.

The second we arrived, the driver opened the door and hurried us off. (No wonder, after what just happened.) I sniffed the air, and it smelled fresh. There was the strong scent of salt and ice-cream. Teto took off running.

"Yay! We're here!" she shouted. She, Luka, and Gumi spread out towels and umbrellas. The beach was surprisingly not crowded. Nigaito, Ted, and I walked to the edge of the water, and Gakupo followed behind us, still in a daze. I suddenly noticed Miki was missing. I surveyed the area to find her standing by herself on an old wooden stage. Of course, she would be the one to do something stupid and dangerous. I sighed. She probably didn't mean to be that way. It wasn't her fault. I walked over to her and said

"Miki, you should get down from there. That old thing could collapse at any minute." I offered a reassuring smile to show her I wasn't angry, and she quickly obliged. She followed me back to the others. They had set up a volleyball net. Miki grabbed my hand and pulled my over to one side.

"Come on, Piko! You should be on my team!" I resisted the urge to shout at her to let me go.

"I don't know… I don't really like sports…" I tried to explain, but it was of no use, and the game had already started. Miki giggled.

"Don't worry! It'll be fun!" She said, and she was right. That was the most fun I had in a long time. I was able to focus on the game, and not about what everybody was thinking of me. I never knew I could be so competitive. Afterwards, that all disappeared though. Somebody shouted at me

"Good game, Piko! You were great!" I turned around to thank them, but noticed everyone staring at me. Gumi said to Nigaito

"Isn't Piko wonderful at that?" He nodded cheerfully in agreement, and my stomach was tied in knots again. They make me sick. I don't understand why everyone has to say things they don't know anything about. I'm not wonderful. I'm a liar, and I'm far from the sweet, perfect person everyone thinks I am. I felt my face grow hot and I wished I could disappear, or at least not be there in front of everyone. Miki approached me.

"Are you ok, Piko?" She asked. I couldn't reply, but I didn't need to. Ted dismissed her concern with

"I'm sure he's just tired" and they left me alone.

The whole day was like that- me pretending to be ok and everyone believing me and having fun. Why can't they notice it? We swam, and ate lunch, and built sand castles, and looked for seashells… all the things you should do at the beach, and by the time it was dark, still nobody had noticed. Nobody could notice that my head is killing me, that my nerves are shorter than normal. I'm suffering and nobody knows.

_That's because you don't want them to._

A voice in my head was talking to me. I chose not to listen. That's crazy.

_You're just jealous of them, and that's why._

I told it to shut up.

_You want to be happy too. That's why you can't stand Nigaito and Gumi. Nobody can understand you. You're just empty._

I didn't want to listen. I wanted to talk to someone real.

_You're useless._

I believed it…

It was dark outside. We were at home. It was dinnertime. Everyone was talking normally, except me. I didn't bother to smile at anyone or ask them how their day was. I was through with lying. It was _useless._ Miki was the first person to notice. She gave me a concerned smile. I stared at the table in reply. My mix-match eyes were darker. They wouldn't look up at her. I couldn't accept her kindness. All this time I had looked down on everyone. I considered myself the only smart one there, and they just couldn't see how pathetic they were, but now it's different. I'm so much smaller than them. I don't deserve to be here. I know this with all my heart now and I stand up to leave. Everyone's eyes are staring at me, and it's as uncomfortable as ever.

"I'm leaving." I said simply.

"Where are you going?" asked Teto.

"You're so nosy!" I shot at her sharply.

"You walk around poking your nose in other people's business and everywhere you don't belong! You talk way too much and you're the most annoying person I've ever met!" I was shouting without meaning to. The truth flowed out of me like water, and I didn't bother to stop it. I was sick and tired of bottling up all of this anger.

"The truth is that none of you know the first thing about me, and I don't understand any of you!" They were astonished. They didn't see how somebody so quiet and pleasant could suddenly turn so violent and shout.

"Gakupo, you're just a weirdo with a sword that obsesses over eggplants! There's got to be something wrong with that! Gumi and Nigaito are just as bad. You're so annoying always at each other's side every time I see you! I can't stand you all!" I turned to Miki. It was a lie. I liked her. She wasn't like the others. She wasn't annoying. I couldn't stand to be near her though, or rather, I didn't deserve to be near her.

"Miki!" I shouted loudly.

"You're just… too nice!" I was breathing heavily. My head hurt so much. I wanted to go somewhere cold and dark and go to sleep. She did something unexpected. She laughed. She laughed and then she smiled at me.

"Oh, am I? I wasn't trying to be. So you really think I'm nice?"

"Y-yeah…" I tried to keep my voice firm. I wanted to be mad at her. The words came out as a whisper though. I was slipping.

"Well, thank you very much!" I was so confused.

"I just yelled at you… I insulted you all… and you're going to thank me?" My voice was becoming dim and uneven.

"Sure!" She said happily. "I'm happy that you say I'm nice. You're acting weird though. Are you ok?" Everybody was still staring at me. I didn't give in to my shell though. Anger crept its way back into my heart.

"No!" I screamed. "Can you not see that? None of you know me… I can never ever find a way to be myself. I hide all day, every day. You're just weird if you don't hate me! I can't stand this! You don't get it! I lied to you! I'm not who you think I am!" Her face turned sad.

"I don't understand, Piko… What made you say all this?"

"We're just… Robots… We're being used to sing and entertain people… Did you think Master created us for anything other than that? We're not people. We're just…"

_Useless_

"Vocaloids… We're only…"

_Useless _

"I'm… useless…" there. I said it. They know what I really think now, so I can sleep, right? I guess not. I fell to the floor, panting. Miki came and sat at my side. Hot tears filmed my eyes.

"Miki… stay away from me…" I warned. She didn't leave though. She hugged me.

"You're not useless." She said matter-of-factly. I didn't believe her.

"I am too… I can't do anything right… I'm only in the way."

"That's not true. I'm glad you're here. You make me happy, and all of us appreciate you."

"But that isn't me!" I said helplessly. My vision was blurred. I was exhausted. I couldn't take much more.

"Then show us who you are." Miki said. "We'll love you no matter who you are. You should know that, silly." She playfully flicked my forehead. At a loss for words, I stifled a sob and looked up at her.

"You really mean that?" I asked. I should have known I don't have to be so cautious with Miki. She laughed again and said

"Of course! I'd be a terrible friend if I didn't. We all mean it." I looked up around at everyone, searching for reassurance. They nodded and smiled. Teto crouched down beside me.

"Gosh, Piko. I had no idea I was so annoying. If you had told me I was bothering you, I could have stopped." I shook my head.

"No, you're not really that annoying. I was just really angry. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings…" And I really meant that. The last thing I remembered from that night was everyone laughing, and me sitting embarrassed on the floor. Then I vaguely recall Gumi and Nigaito saying my name.

"You win." They said. I was astonished. I didn't even remember the whole singing thing.

I guess I should have just realized this from the start. I could have prevented this whole scene if I had just been honest. It wasn't so bad though. I really am glad for their support. If you'd like to know what I'm doing today, I'm recording a song with Gumi and Miki. I really have the best friends ever.

**Okay! Another chapter done! Sorry it was random. I just really felt like giving a chapter to Piko, since he doesn't have much attention. Sorry it took so long! It would really make my day if you reviewed! **


	8. From Sunshine to Snow

**Sorry I took so long. I've been a little busy lately. Anyways, here's another chapter. The adventure continues!**

**By the way, as awesome as it would be, I don't own vocaloid.**

**Gumi's POV**

So, after recording a cd with Piko, I thought we would be going back home.

I thought…

It turns out, we had another "errand" that Master wanted us to run…

We hadn't so much as stepped onto the bus to go back home when my phone started ringing again. I picked it up and heard the familiar voice.

"Gumi?" it said, "I need you to go somewhere else for me."

I sighed and stepped off the bus with Nigaito right behind me.

"Sure. Where do you need me to go?"

"Well… it's a bit far away… and buses don't run there, so I'll have a personal car come and pick you up. The town is very small. You shouldn't have a hard time getting around. I need you to find a girl named Akita Neru. She is Miku's cousin. I need you to find her and bring her back home with you. You see… she's a little bit lost."

I stood there taking it all in and repeated it to Nigaito.

"Ok. We'll take care of it." I said and hung up.

I learned something very important that day…

Waiting for a car to come get you is very, very, very, unbelievably boring…

Laying my head on Nigaito's shoulder I inquired

"Want to play shiritori?" he sighed and said

"We played that just a few minutes ago though…"

"Then let's count the number of black cars."

"What cars? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh yeah…"

"Gumi?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

I blushed and buried my face in his sleeve.

"Love you too…" I mumbled. He then kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him and he was smiling. He really looked like an angel. I was about to say something when we heard a car horn. Master's black car pulled up.

_Great way to ruin the moment…_ I thought.

We got in the car and the driver started towards the village. I slept most of the way. When I woke up, we were in a completely different place. The second I stepped out of the car, the cold air tickled my face and it no longer smelled of the ocean and flowers. I shivered, wishing I had brought a jacket. We stepped through piles of snow. The wind was like a knife, and we could barely see the lights from the houses in front of us. We finally reached a door. It was a bit difficult to tell what building we were walking into, but we welcomed the shelter from the weather.

As the door shut behind us, we were suddenly surrounded by a setting from some cozy Christmas movie. There was a warm fireplace at the far end of the room, and a coffee table in the center, with seating for twelve people around it. A woman behind a desk smiled at us and waved.

"Can I help you?" she said.

"Yes, please. We're looking for someone." She walked over to us.

"Well, before that, please sit down. You must be very cold and tired. I'll get you something warm to drink."

"Thank you very much!" I said.

Nigaito and I sat down by the fire and the woman brought us hot chocolate. She sat down by us and said

"Now, who is it that you're looking for all the way out here at this time of night?"

**Nigaito's POV**

The lady asked us who we were looking for.

"A girl named Akita Neru." I responded. She smiled and said

"Well, that's easy; I can go get her for you. You'll have to wait for the blizzard to die down a bit first though. Then she walked back to her desk. I turned to Gumi.

"Neru is a little bit…" I searched for a word to explain. "Different?" I said.

Gumi laughed.

"In what way?"

"Well, you'll definitely be able to tell she's Miku's cousin. She is a bit… a lot attached to her cell phone. I'm surprised she's even out in a place like this. No wonder we were sent to get her."

I remembered one time when Neru came to visit us when we were a little younger. She was texting her friends from her hometown every second. That experience ended with Neru and Miku shouting over grape juice that had spilt on the floor of Miku's room. She hasn't come since then, and I'm a bit nervous about taking her to our house again. We might be older now, but if her mind has grown at the same rate as Miku's has, things probably haven't changed.

I shared these memories with Gumi and she laughed. She smiled.

"It makes me really glad I came here with you." She said.

"I'm really glad you came too." I said and took her hand. She snuggled close to me and closed her eyes.

"Are you sleepy?" I asked. She nodded and mumbled something inaudible.

"You can go to sleep if you want." I wrapped my arms around her and she fell asleep.

**Gumi's POV**

When I woke up, I looked up at Nigaito, and he was sleeping. The sun was shining through the window.

"Nigaito…" I whispered. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled down at me.

"Good morning." He said sweetly.

"Good morning!" I replied. I then noticed a faint noise. It sounded like someone shouting. Standing up, I let go of Nigaito's hand and walked across the room, towards the noise. I approached the door and opened it slightly. There was a girl with long blonde hair pulled to the side in a ponytail. She looked very excited. She was texting, and never took her eyes off her cell phone, but she shouted.

"Yay! I'm saved! You don't know how terrible this place is! There's no mall, no park, hardly any cell phone service… I thought I was going to be miserable forever!" The girl was shouting at the woman from last night. I opened the door and walked outside.

"Um… Are you Neru?" The girl, still not looking up said

"Yes, of course! Who else would I be?"

_Yup… _I thought. _She's Miku's cousin. _

"Well, Nigaito and I came to take you to our house." She finally looked at me, and squinted.

"I don't think I know you." She said.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Gumi Megpoid. I just moved in with Miku and all of them recently. It's nice to meet you." I said.

She nodded and resumed texting. Nigaito walked up behind me and waved.

"Hello again, Neru."

There was no response…

The driver came to get us again and we stepped in the car with Neru. We had to almost guide her, as she refused to stop texting long enough to watch where she was going.

Needless to say, the ride back home was just as boring as ever. And with this, our artic expedition came to a close. - At least, we hope so…

**What did you think? I'd love to know. There's a little button that says 'review' on it. If you would be ever so kind as to click that button and provide a little feedback, you can have a cookie. Thank you! I'll try to update soon.**


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